Jay Chandrasekhar Quotes

I direct as an actor. Many times, I will say, 'Let me try this.' And I'll walk the scene through and see what I can tell the actor about it. I don't know what to tell him until I've actually tried it and seen what the problem is.

I didn't train in directing; I talk to actors the way I talk to anybody.

There are two schools of thought: There are those actors who explain to you that they know exactly how they're going to do the part... And then there is the other method, which is to have no method at all. This is mine.

I'm one of those actors who likes to do it wrong nine ways before I come to the tenth way, which is the way I think it should be.

I don't really prepare for each role the same way.

I do think that's so much a part of what being a director is - in working with actors - to really try and be sensitive to what each actor needs to get to where he wants to be.

Good actors, especially when they know their character, will come in and either tell you in advance that they have an idea, or in the middle of the rehearsal or the scene they'll let it loose and you go, 'Ah that's great.'

I approach directing from an actor's standpoint.

I'm one of those lazy actors; I like to take what the playwright wrote and work with that.

The rehearsal time is almost my favourite part of being an actress, particularly if you're working on a play that hasn't been done before.

Scorsese is a fan of improv and is always pushing actors to think up something that would make the scene more fun. He loves any idea that helps the scene be alive.

I never do any research for my roles.

When I'm playing any of my characters, I totally go into the realm of the character. That's when I'm able to come up with the most creative stuff, and I believe that's what connects with the audience.

I think acting is boring because you have to sit for a long time. And being a director I am used to running around and being busy on sets. I lack the actor software.

I always ask the actors, 'What have you never done before?'

When you are repeating your co-star, it's good to bring something new to the equation on screen.

Theatre is something that keeps me very alert, and I am actively creating whether I am on stage or directing. In films, I feel I become more of an introvert, going deeper in the realism of a character.

It's strange not to allow the actor some input and breathing room into what was written on the page - it is their job to make it come alive.

I don't really compare any of the characters I play; I try to go into them being very open to what the characters can offer and what I can bring to them and then bring a being to life.

A lot of what we do in the studio on a day-to-day basis is you try to cast a line as far out as you can out into unknown waters and reel it back in, cut out stuff that isn't working, cut out stuff that isn't connecting to people.

I'm not a Method actress. I work in the present, the day-to-day.

When you're first starting a show, any show, you learn what works and what doesn't work, and it's a kind of trial and error thing.

I like collaborating with actors. I love finding that moment where it all comes together.

That's basically how I learned everything as an actor. I was just a kid, and I worked with these actors, and I'd ask them questions, and then something would work for me, and I'd try to move forward with it.

People think acting is just memorizing lines and doing facial expressions. No it's about traveling along a path of discovery, intention and connection.